TAO + LEE Associates

What TAO + LEE Associates does

TAO + LEE Associates is a privately held architecture and design firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded by principals Peter Tao and Helen Lee (each holding a Master of Architecture from Columbia University), the firm offers an integrated suite of professional services covering architectural design, planning, interior design, and creative design. Its project portfolio is unusually horizontal, spanning commercial offices, cultural and institutional facilities (including work associated with the St. Louis Art Museum and Missouri History Museum), educational facilities, healthcare projects, hospitality venues, residential developments, retail storefronts, sports and recreation facilities, industrial-manufacturing sites, and land use planning engagements. Domestic work is concentrated in the Midwest, with documented international project execution including rendering work for sites in China and principals' prior practice history in New York and London.

The firm operates on a pure project-based professional services model. Revenue is generated through one-time design and consulting fees, with pricing custom to project scope and not publicly disclosed. There are no software products, proprietary technology platforms, recurring subscriptions, or licensing arrangements. The firm has no subsidiaries, no external investors, no disclosed partnerships or joint ventures, no patents or trademarks, and no funding rounds of any kind. Ownership and control are retained by the two co-founding principals, consistent with a traditional small architecture practice.

TAO + LEE maintains a small team of 1-10 employees and is actively operating, with an updated portfolio website, current social media presence across LinkedIn, Facebook, Houzz, and Medium, and regional brand recognition supported by awards from the American Institute of Architects, the City of St. Louis, the St. Louis Asian American Chamber of Commerce, the St. Louis Business Journal, and features in publications including Interiors Magazine and VMSD. There are no disclosed certifications, regulatory actions, mergers, acquisitions, leadership transitions beyond the founding principals, or formal partnership agreements.

Name

TAO + LEE Associates

Legal name

TAO + LEE Associates, Inc.

Website

https://taolee.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

TAO + LEE Associates is a small, founder-owned architecture and design firm in St. Louis, Missouri, offering integrated architectural, planning, interior, and creative design services across commercial, institutional, educational, healthcare, hospitality, residential, and retail sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Interior Design Services (54141)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Master planning
• Interior design
• Commercial architecture
• Cultural facilities design

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Project-based fees for architectural planning, design, and execution services across commercial, residential, cultural, educational, and hospitality project types. Revenue is generated through one-time design project fees rather than recurring subscriptions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

TAO + LEE Associates provides architectural design, master planning, interior design, and creative design services to clients across multiple sectors. The firm delivers integrated building, planning, and interior design solutions for commercial, cultural, educational, healthcare, hospitality, recreational, religious, and residential projects, with a portfolio anchored by civic and institutional work in the St. Louis region.

Product overview

TAO + LEE Associates is an architecture and design firm offering a unified suite of professional services including Architectural Services, Planning Services, Interior Design Services, and Creative Design Services. The firm organizes its work across multiple specialized service portfolios covering Commercial, Cultural & Institutional, Educational, Hospitality + Restaurants, Land Use + Planning, Residential, and Retail projects. These services are delivered as integrated design offerings rather than discrete software products, with project types ranging from office interiors and museums to restaurants, schools, and residential homes. The firm's principals, Peter Tao and Helen Lee, bring over 70 years of collective experience across domestic and international projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Design Core architectural design service covering building design for commercial, cultural, civic, educational, healthcare, hospitality, recreational, religious, and residential projects, delivered to institutional and private clients.
• Master Planning Site and campus master planning services, providing long-range planning studies, phasing strategies, and built-environment frameworks for institutional and development clients.
• Interior Design Interior design services covering space planning, finishes, and material specification, typically delivered in coordination with the firm's architectural projects for institutional and private clients.
• Creative Design Creative design services supporting the firm's architectural and planning work, including concept development, visualization, and interpretive or exhibit design for cultural and civic projects.

Segments11 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• HOK: Global architecture, engineering, and planning firm headquartered in St. Louis with deep cultural, healthcare, and commercial portfolios. Comparable on service breadth and sector overlap, but vastly larger in scale.
• CannonDesign: Large multi-sector architecture and engineering firm with strong healthcare, education, and cultural practices. Overlaps TAO + LEE's sector breadth but operates at much greater scale with integrated engineering.
• HKS Architects: Large national architecture practice known for civic, sports, healthcare, and commercial work. Comparable on multi-sector offering and award recognition, but operates at a significantly larger scale.
• Populous: Global architecture firm specializing in sports, convention, and entertainment venues. Comparable on the sports/recreation sector overlap and award-winning design reputation, though at vastly greater scale.
• Pelli Clarke & Partners: Internationally recognized architecture firm with cultural, commercial, and residential portfolios. Comparable on design prestige and international project experience, though at a larger scale.
• Perkins&Will: Global architecture firm with healthcare, education, cultural, and commercial practices. Overlaps substantially on sector mix and design-led positioning, though at a much larger organizational scale.

Direct peers

• LMN Architects: Mid-sized architecture studio focused on civic, cultural, convention, and education projects. Directly comparable as a similarly sized, design-led practice serving public and institutional clients.
• Studio Gang: Design-driven architecture studio with strong cultural, civic, and residential portfolio and international profile. Comparable as a founder-led, award-recognized boutique practice competing on design quality rather than scale.
• Christner Inc. St. Louis architecture and interior design firm with similar multi-sector practice including cultural, educational, and commercial work. Comparable in size, location, and integrated architecture-plus-interiors offering.
• Mackey Mitchell Architects: A St. Louis–based architecture firm of comparable size, also serving commercial, civic, educational, and residential clients across the Midwest. Directly comparable in scale, multi-sector breadth, and regional Midwestern market focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TAOLEEArchitects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tao-lee-associates

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TAO + LEE Associates